The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting the peripheral portion of a film projecting from the peripheral edge of a laminated glass plate having the film sandwiched between a pair of glass plates.
There have been proposed various apparatuses for cutting the peripheral portion of a film projecting from the peripheral edge of a laminated glass plate having the film sandwiched between a pair of glass plates.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication 63-300889 discloses a mechanical hand for treating the peripheral edge of a curved plate. The mechanical hand is provided with a movable bracket having an endless cutter, attached to the supporting portion of a robot arm and moved along the peripheral edge of a curved plate.
Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication 61-20300 discloses an apparatus for cutting the peripheral portion of a resin film projecting from the peripheral edge of a laminated glass plate having the film sandwiched between a pair of glass plates. The apparatus has a body movable along a cutting line of a resin film, a cutting blade attached to the body, and a heater fixed to the body to heat the cutting blade or the resin film.
Japanese Patent Publication 7-41578 discloses an apparatus for automatically cutting the peripheral portion of a plastic sheet projecting from the peripheral edge of a laminated window glass plate having the sheet sandwiched between a pair of glass plates. The apparatus has a cutting head provided with a ribbon-shaped cutting blade like a band saw, an apparatus for attaching the cutting head to a mechanism which enables the cutting head to move in the directions of three orthogonal Cartesian axes and supporting the cutting head to be rotatable around two orthogonal axes, and an electronic numerical controlling and driving apparatus.
In Japanese Patent Publication 4-65026, the present applicant disclosed a method and an apparatus for cutting the peripheral portion of a film projecting from the peripheral edge of a laminated glass plate having the film sandwiched between a pair of glass plates, wherein a cutter knife is brought into contact with the peripheral edge of a laminated glass plate, and the cutter knife is moved along the peripheral edge of the glass plate, while the cutter knife is continuously supplied with supersonic wave vibration in the extending direction of its knife-edge during its movement along the peripheral edge of the glass plate.
The apparatuses of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication 63-300889 and Japanese Patent Publication 7-41578 require much time to change the endless cutter or the band saw and the endless cutter and the band saw may touch and damage the glass plate.
The apparatus of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication 61-20300 cuts the peripheral portion of the resin film by the steps of tightly abutting a lower roller against the peripheral edge and the lower surface of the peripheral portion of the glass plate, clamping the peripheral portion of the resin film with the cutting blade and the lower roller, and cutting the resin film by the cutting blade. However, it is fairly hard to tightly abut the lower roller against the curved peripheral edge of the glass plate. In the apparatus of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication 61-20300, moving rollers move on both surfaces of the peripheral portion of the glass plate, while keeping in contact with both surfaces of the glass plates during their movement. Thus, the moving rollers are liable to damage the surface of the glass plate.
In the apparatus of Japanese Patent Publication 4-65026, the cutter knife is kept apart from the peripheral edge of the glass plate to cut the peripheral portion of the film without bringing the cutter knife into contact with the glass plate. However, if it is desired to minimize the width of the remaining peripheral portion of the film still projecting from the peripheral edge of the glass plate after the cutting work to, for example, 1 mm, the cutter knife must be brought very close the peripheral edge of the glass plate. The cutter knife brought very close the peripheral edge of the glass plate and supplied with the supersonic wave vibration is liable to contact the glass plate and damage the peripheral portion of the glass plate and also the cutter knife itself.